




0t 



Class ~P Z T 

Book , H I f 


Copyright!^? 


0 


COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 









I 



MERRILL’S STORY BOOKS 


JAN AND BETJE 

A STORY OF 

TWO DUTCH CHILDREN 


By 

MAY EMERY HALL 

II 



NEW YORK 

CHARLES E. MERRILL COMPANY 



COPTRIQHT, 1914, 

BY 

CHARLES E. MERRILL CO. 


MAY -7 1914 


©CI.A369988 


TO THE CHILDREN 


If the American children who read this 
little story should glance through the 
pages of a Dutch book, I am quite sure 
they would exclaim, How many fs there 
are!’’ Indeed, this letter seems to be a 
great favorite in the quaint little country 
we are to visit. I doubt if you would 
pronounce it exactly right, though — not 
the first time, at any rate. 

As we are to read a Dutch story, how- 
ever, we want to give the Dutch names 
their Dutch sounds, do we not? Suppose, 
then, at the start, we call Jan, Yon, and 
his sister Betje, Bet'yuh. The other 
little children of the j family — their 
cousin, Aartje, their schoolmate, Mietje, 
and the baby of the windmill house, Mar- 
[ 3 ] 


retje, — we will call in turn Art'yuh, 
Meet'yuh, and Mar'ret yiih. 

The nearest your American tongue can 
pronounce Gouda, the name of the city 
of queer pipes, is Gow'da. 

The coins Jan and Betje saved in their 
banks are very interesting. They col- 
lected cents, as you do, but their Dutch 
cent is worth less than half of your Ameri- 
can cent. One hundred of the Dutch 
cents make a gulden (gool'den) instead of 
a dollar, and a twenty-five-cent piece is a 
kwartje (quart 'yiih). 

If Jan and Betje were speaking of 
klompen, their wooden shoes, they would 
call them klomp'en; kaas or cheese, kas; 
poort or gate, poort; and oud or old, owd. 
I know these words sound queer to you. 
On the other hand, the little Van Eycks 
would pronounce boteVj meaning butter, 
bo' ter; and pijp and boek exactly like 
your own pipe and book, 

[ 4 ] 


In fact, you will find that in some ways 
Jan and Betje are not strangers to you. I 
hope that in reading their story, you will 
enjoy getting acquainted with them. 





JAN AND / r)v 
BETJE if \\ \)f 


CHAPTER I 
THE FLOATING HOME 

Jan and Betje were Dutch children. 
Jan was ten years old, his sister two years 
younger. They first opened their blue 
eyes on a flat boat, or barge, on one of the 
canals of Holland. This was not only 
their first home, but the only one they had 
ever known. Instead of talking about 
[ 9 ] 


^^down the street^’ or the street/' as 
other children do, it was always the 
canal" or ^^down the canal" with them. 

The barge belonged to Wilhelm Van 
Eyck, the father of Jan and Betje. In 
the front part of the boat was a deep 
roomy space called the hold. This was 
usually filled with great golden cheeses. 
Father Van Eyck was hired to carry this 
cargo to and from market, and so the boat 
helped him earn a living for himself and 
Mother Van Eyck, and their boy and girl. 

^^We don't want anything better than 
our boat, do we, Jan? " Betje would often 
say. 

^^No, indeed," her brother always an- 
swered. ^^It's ever so much better than a 
house. Just think how stupid it must be 
for poor children who have to live on dry 
land — always in the same place. I 
should get so tired of it!" 

“And I, too. We are much better off 
[ 10 ] 


as we are. We can begin the day with 
green fields, cattle, and windmills around 
us and perhaps go to sleep that very 
same night in a great big city like Rotter- 
dam or Amsterdam.’^ 

“What do we want of a yard?^^ Betje 
went on. “Don^t we have the deck, 
which is much nicer?” 

“I should say so. It’s plenty large 
enough for games.” 

“And for mother’s washing.” 

“And surely nobody could have a bet- 
ter pet than our Piet.” 

Piet was the family dog. He was very 
fond of the children and would romp with 
them by the hour. But it was not always 
playtime with Piet. Most dogs have to 
do their share of the work in Holland, and 
so whenever Father Van Eyck went to 
market to buy food for the family, Piet 
pulled the cart. In his harness of rope 
and leather, he would trudge steadily 
[ 11 ] 


along the narrow Dutch streets by the 
side of his master, like the good, faithful 
dog he was. 

The children’s parents were very glad 
that their boy and girl were so contented. 
It made them happy. Like J an and Bet j e, 
they too thought their boat quite the 
nicest home in the world. 

It really was as comfortable as a house. 
The deck was the living-room on pleasant 
days. Here Mother Van Eyck sewed. 
Father Van Eyck smoked, the children 
played, and they all ate their meals. 
There was a covered cabin, but they 
seldom went into it except to sleep. 

That cabin was like a doll’s house, for 
all the world! If you had gone into it, 
you would have had to hunt for the beds. 
They were really cupboard beds, built in 
the walls, and hidden by bright curtains. 
Many homes in Holland have no other 
kind of bed. The floor of the cabin room 
[ 12 ] 





[ 13 ] 




was covered with gay oilcloth, and there 
were shelves of blue and white dishes and 
pieces of shining brass. There was a 
pretty tile, too, on the shelf. This was a 
square piece of glazed pottery which 
Mother Van Eyck used as a stand for her 
teapot. 

Two tiny windows were draped in snow- 
white muslin. The children’s mother 
never allowed the window curtains to get 
soiled. It would be a shame for a Dutch 
housewife to grow careless about so impor- 
tant a matter! Usually there were jars of 
flowers at the windows — bright tulips, 
hyacinths, or lovely big roses. A pet bird 
in a cage made music all day long. 

Was it any wonder that Jan and Betje 
wanted no better place in which to live 
than their floating home? 


[ 14 ] 


CHAPTER II 


PAINTING THE BOAT 

some extra work to do to-day,” 
said Father Van Eyck one morning, '^and 
I’m going to ask you to help me, Jan.” 

''Quite right,” said his mother. "All 
play and no work is not a good thing for 
boys and girls — or grown-ups, either.” 

Jan was very willing to be of use to his 
father, who was always so good to him. 

"What shall I do first?” he asked. 

"Just wait a bit, son,” laughed Father 
Van Eyck. "I was just about to tell you. 
Our boat needs a new dress. Her colors 
are so faded they look quite shabby. Do 
you think you could help me put on some 
new paint?” 

"0, yes,” cried the delighted Jan. 

[ 15 ] 


Never before had his father asked him 
to do the work of a man! 

^^What color are you going to have, 
father?’^ he said. 

^^That is for the rest of you to decide. 
As long as the paint is new and fresh, I 
don’t care what color it is.” 

Let’s get bright blue, then.” 

''0, I like orange better,” spoke up 
Betje. 

^^And you, mother?” asked Father Van 
Eyck. 

“I was just going to say pink,” she 
replied. 

^^Then we’ll paint it all three colors.” 

So it was decided to paint the boat in 
stripes — first one of pink, then blue, then 
orange. People living in America would 
think it a funny sort of dress to give the 
barge; not so in Holland, the home of 
bright colors. 

The boat was tied fast to a wharf for the 
[16] 


day, and the proud Jan went with his 
father to the paintshop and helped select 
the paint. They bought a large can of 
each of the three colors and two good 
stout brushes. 

“May I carve my initials on the handle 
of my brush? asked Jan. 

“ Yes,’^ said his father. 

After ten minutes’ work, the brush bore 
three clean-cut letters — J. V. E. — 
which, of course, stood for Jan Van Eyck. 

That day was almost like a holiday. 
Jan and his father worked hard, it is true, 
but it was fun all the same. As they 
painted, they sat or stood up in a small 
boat which they moved along the side of 
the barge from time to time. Above 
them, Betje and her mother leaned over 
the side of the barge to see how the work 
was coming on. The task was finished 
late in the afternoon. 

“To-morrow, after the paint has begun 
[ 17 ] 


to dry/’ said Jan’s father, “we will paint 
the name.” 

Early the next morning, the two work- 
ers were at it again. The name had ten 
letters. Father Van Eyck first outlined 
them with a heavy pencil so that, when 
finished, they would all be of the same size 
and height. Then Jan began at one end 
of the name and his father at the other. 
When they came together, there stood ten 
straight letters which spelled 

WTLHELMINA. 

“I’m glad our boat is named after the 
queen,” said Betje. 

The others felt the same way. They 
were proud of their gracious ruler; but you 
may be sure they were just as proud of the 
boat named for her. 


[ 18 ] 


CHAPTER III 


BETJE AT WORK 

The next morning Jan was walking 
back and forth on the deck of the Wilhel- 
mina with his hands in his trousers 
pockets. He felt several inches taller than 
the day before. Had he not helped paint 
the boat and made a good job of it? 

Betje watched him with a rather sober 
look on her little round face. She was 
always proud of her brother, but she 
didn’t half like it when he looked and 
acted so much older than herself. She 
knew very well there was only two years’ 
difference in their ages. 

“Mother,” she said softly, stepping 
over to where Mother Van Eyck was pre- 
paring vegetables for dinner, “Jan has 
[ 19 ] 


begun to do grown-up work for father. 
Why cannot I do something for you?^^ 

Mother Van Eyck laid down her dish of 
carrots and smiled pleasantly. 

^^Ah, that is what I like to hear, little 
daughter, said she. ^^It shows you are a 
true Dutch housewife at heart. You may 
begin your grown-up tasks this very day.’’ 

Right now?” 

“Right now. Hasten and fetch the 
new apron I made you for your last birth- 
day.” 

It did not take Betje many seconds to 
scramble down the steep steps that led to 
the cabin. From a box covered with 
flowered paper, she carefully drew out the 
treasured apron that had never yet been 
fWorn, It had blue flgures on a white 
background and bands of plain blue for 
trimming. The neck was low and the 
sleeves short, but the apron was long 
enough to cover Betje’s dress. What she 
[ 20 ] 


liked best about it were two generous 
pockets. Betje believed there couldn^t 
be another such beautiful apron in all 
Holland! She went up on deck again so 
that her mother could button it in the 
back. Then, clasping her mother^s hand, 
Betje returned to the cabin, ready for 
work. 

Beginning to-day,^’ said Mother Van 
Eyck, “I am going to let you take care of 
my nicest dishes and brass. Yes, you may 
even wash my very best tile that Aunt 
Mama bought in Delft, where the famous 
potteries are.’’ 

Betje gasped with delight. 

^^0, I will be so very, very careful, 
mother,” she said. 

^^Of that I am sure,” Mother Van Eyck 
answered, ^^else I would not trust you 
with them. See, you must scour the 
brass so.” 

As she spoke, she took up her favorite 


little flat dish, or porringer, which had two 
fancy side handles. 

^^Here are the soft cloths. With one, 
you must rub on this soft paste, then rinse 
the dish in hot water, wipe it dry, and 
give it a last polish with another clean 
cloth.’’ 

^^And is this to be done every day, 
mother?” 

^^What a foolish question, child! Of 
course. Have you not seen me do it ever 
since you can remember? ” 

''Yes, mother.” 

"It is true there are some housekeepers 
who give their brass a rub only now and 
then — perhaps once a week — but the 
women of my family and your father’s 
also have ever been more particular.” 

Mother Van Eyck went back to her 
work on deck. Betje was left alone. She 
washed and scrubbed and polished until 
she was quite red in the face. As she 
[ 22 ] 


worked, she made up stories about herself, 
making believe she was really a grown 
woman and that the pretty dishes were 
her very own. How she admired them! 
And how she held on to them with all her 
might! It would never do to break such 
wonderful treasures. 

The best tile had a windmill with long 
flappy arms. Betje never tired of study- 
ing the soft blues and browns in the pic- 
ture. There was a lady in the picture 
also and Betje made up a story about her, 
too. 

When the work was quite done, Betje 
folded up her Dutch apron carefully, put 
it back in the box, and went in search of 
her mother. 

^^Well done, little daughter,” Mother 
Van Eyck greeted her, and she kissed 
Betje heartily. 

Jan was still walking back and forth. 
Betje stole softly up behind him and 
[ 23 ] 


linked her arm in his. At last she felt 
almost as old and tall as he did! 



[ 24 ] 


CHAPTER IV 


THE SECRET 

A few moments later, Betje heard her 
mother^s voice calling to her. 

^^Come here, child,^^ she said, ^^and 
take off your klompen. I just noticed as 
you passed by that they are in pretty bad 
condition.” 

Betje removed her wooden shoes as her 
mother directed. Mother Van Eyck 
looked them over and shook her head 
gravely. 

“They are past mending, I fear,” she 
said. “Your father will have to buy you 
some new ones at the very next stopping 
place.” 

“Then I will throw these into the 
canal,” said Betje. 

[ 25 ] 


Don't do that, Betje," spoke up Jan. 
“I know of something better." 

^^What?" 

^^It's a secret." 

^‘0, good!" cried Betje, clapping her 
hands in glee. 

Jan drew her away to the bow of the 
boat so that his mother could not hear 
what he said. Betje listened to her 
brother eagerly. 

Father had some paint left yester- 
day," began Jan. Let's ask him for it. 
You take one klomp and paint it orange, 
and I'll take the other and paint it blue." 

^^What shall we do with them after 
that?" asked Betje. 

^^Use them for banks. Mother will let 
us keep them on the shelf, I know." 

^^0, yes," agreed Betje. ^^And mother 
said if I helped her every day as much 
as I did this morning, she would give me 
a cent now and then." 


Father promised me the same thing/ ^ 
added Jan. 

^^St. Nicholas Day will be coming next 
December/^ Betje went on, ^^and then we 
shall need some money to buy presents 
for mother and father.” 

know already what we ought to buy 
for father,” said Jan. Some green velvet 
slippers for Sundays. His best pair is 
wearing out.” 

“I will knit some socks of the same 
color to go with them,” said Betje. “But 
what shall we get for mother? ” 

“ We^U have to think that up by and by. 
There’s plenty of time. It is now only 
the first of August, so we have four whole 
months in which to get ready for St. 
Nicholas Day. First, let’s see if father 
will let us have the paint.” 

Father Van Eyck promised that the 
children should have it as soon as he had a 
chance to buy the new klompen for Betje. 

[ 27 ] 


Not many days later, an orange shoe 
and a blue shoe decorated the shelf in the 
cabin. Just before going to bed, Betje 
climbed up in a chair to have a last look 
at her bank. As she picked it up, some- 
thing rattled. She looked inside. There 
was a coin — not a copper cent or even a 
nickel five-cent piece, but a bright silver 
ten-cent piece with the queen^s head on it! 

Jan lost no time taking a peep into his 
bank. It also held a ten-cent piece, bright 
and new, like Betje^s. Never had he felt 
so rich before. 

^^Who put them here?’^ asked Jan of 
his mother. 

'^Ah, that is for you to find out,^’ was 
her reply. Somebody else can have a 
secret as well as you and Betje.” 


CHAPTER V 


THROUGH THE CANALS 

The Wilhelminaj in her new coat of 
fresh paint, was now on her way to a large 
cheese factory. Here Father Van Eyck 
was to take on a load of cheeses and then 
carry them to the cheese market. In the 
same way, other bargemen were taking 
their cargoes from many different fac- 
tories to the market, and later, on market 
day, all the cheeses would be sold in a 
big open square. 

Very slowly the Wilhelmina moved 
through the canals. The barge had a 
sail, it is true — a heavy, dark red one; 
but it was of use only when a stiff breeze 
was blowing. For days at a time it would 
remain furled. For the most part, the 
[ 29 ] 


Van Eyck boat had to be either pulled 
or pushed. 

Please let me pull with you, father,’’ 
Jan begged one day. 

Father Van Eyck was just putting a 
strong rope over his shoulders and under 
his arms when his boy spoke. He did not 
answer at once. 

^^What do you think, mother?” he said 
at last. ^Hs our Jan too young to tug at 
the rope?” 

should say not,” answered Mother 
Van Eyck. ^^He is strong and tall and 
able to help you. Some day he will have 
to learn and he may as well begin now.” 

One end of the rope was already tied 
to the bow of the boat. With the other. 
Father Van Eyck made a double harness, 
and soon he and Jan were pulhng the 
Wilhelmina through the water streets. 
They walked side by side along a little 
footpath near the water’s edge. 

[ 30 ] 




why is Holland covered with canals?^^ 
asked Jan. 

Because most of our land is lower than 
the level of the ocean/ ^ replied Father 
Van Eyck. If it were not for the canals, 
the water that comes from springs and 
rains would settle all over the country. 
To carry it off and keep the land dry, 
these channels have been cut in all direc- 
tions.’’ 

“But what carries the water from the 
fields to the canals?” was Jan’s next 
question. 

“Pumps,” replied Father Van Eyck. 
“And back of the pumps are the wind- 
mills that keep the pumps going.” 

Jan thought hard for a minute. 

“But I should think,” he said after a 
little while, “that even if the canals car- 
ried the water to the sea, it would flow 
back again.” 

“Ah, but there are strong sea-walls all 
[ 32 ] 


along the coast to shut the water out/’ 
was Father Van Eyck’s answer. ^^They 
are built of earth and stone and are called 
dikes. I will show you one some day.” 

Jan’s work for that day ended at dinner 
time. 

^^This afternoon,” said Father Van 
Eyck, am going to pole the boat in- 
stead of pulling it. You have earned a 
good rest, Jan, and may sit down with 
Betje and look on while I work.” 

^^May I not help you as I did this morn- 
ing?” Jan asked. 

^^The pole is too heavy for you, my 
boy,” his father answered. “You can 
manage it better when you are a few years 
older.” 

Jan found he was rather tired, after all, 
and he was glad enough to sit down by 
the side of Betje. He and his sister 
watched their father take a long stout 
pole, carry it to the side of the barge, and 
[ 33 ] 


lower one end until it touched the bottom 
of the canal. He then pushed on the 
other end with all his strength. This sent 
the Wilhelmina forward. Now and then 
Father Van Eyck pulled the pole out of 
the water, dropped it in a different place, 
and pushed as before. The work was 
repeated again and again. Thus, little 
by little, the Wilhelmina made her way 
through the canals. Jan was anxious for 
the day to come when he could handle a 
pole himself. 

‘^Then you shall sit and do nothing all 
day long,” he promised his father. 


[ 34 ] 


CHAPTER VI 


BRIDGES AND LOCKS 

While on her way to the cheese fac- 
tory, the Wilhelmina passed under many 
bridges. Some of these were called toll 
bridges, which meant that every boatman 
must pay a small sum of money, to get by 
the bridge. 

'^Are we going to pass a toll bridge 
to-day, father?” Betje asked one morn- 
ing. 

^^Yes.” 

“ I hope it is Baas Vleeck^s bridge, then.” 

^^The very same.” 

“Then will you give me the two cents 
so that I may have them all ready? I 
will put them in my apron pocket and 
take good care not to lose them.” 

[ 35 ] 


it your turn to pay to-day?’^ asked 
her father. 

“Yes, don’t you remember? Jan paid * 
yesterday.” 

Father Van Eyck handed Betje two 
copper coins. 

“The paying out of money pleases you 
better than it does me, little one,” he said. 
“It is well that some bridges in Holland 
are free.” 

“0, but father, I always like to pass 
Baas Vleeck’s bridge.” 

“I know why,” put in Jan slyly. “He 
always gives you something back for the 
money.” 

“It isn’t that alone,” answered Betje 
almost tearfully. “He always remembers 
who I am and I like him.” 

Soon afterwards. Baas Vleeck’s bridge 
came in sight. It was a bridge which 
divided so that the central part swung 
around in the canal to make a passage for 
[ 36 ] 


the barges. On this portion stood the 
kindly bridgekeeper. 

^^Ah, my little Betje once more/^ he 
called out with a broad smile on his round 
Dutch face. '^Good morning to you.^^ 

Betje, blushing and happy, held up a 
chubby hand in which the two cents were 
clasped tightly. 

^^Some money for me?^^ said Baas 
Vleeck with an air of surprise, as if he had 
never been known to take a coin from any 
one before. 

Betje nodded her head up and down. 
Then the bridgekeeper lowered a wooden 
shoe which hung from a pole, and Betje 
carefully dropped the two cents inside. 
Baas Vleeck then put his hand deep in his 
trousers pocket. 

“I almost forgot,^’ he said. Some- 
body put these in my pocket for you.’’ 

He tossed her two little squares of sugar 
neatly wrapped in white paper. 

[ 37 ] 


^^Good catch he called out as the 
Wilhelmina moved on. 

Sugar might seem a queer gift to chil- 
dren in some parts of the world, but in 
Holland, where it is somewhat scarce 
and costly, poor children do not get it 
every day. 

Thank you so much,” cried Betje, and 
Jan called, Thank you,” too. 

^^WeJl have them in our chocolate at 
dinner time,” said Betje. ^^CanT you 
cut each piece in two, Jan, with your 
knife? Then there J1 be just enough to 
go round.” 

Jan was glad to do so. As they sipped 
their chocolate that noon, the whole 
family thought what a very nice man the 
bridgekeeper was. 

have a pleasant surprise for you, 
youngsters,” said Father Van Eyck after 
dinner was cleared away. ^^The Wilhel- 
mina must go down a step this afternoon.” 

[ 38 ] 


Who ever heard of a boat going down 
steps? American children would laugh 
at the idea, I know, and say it could not 
be done, but Jan and Betje knew what 
their father was talking about. They 
were quite used to water steps, or locks, 
as they are called. In Holland, wher- 
ever the canal changes from a higher to 
a lower level, these locks are always to be 
found. 

think we are coming to the lock 
now,” called out Father Van Eyck not 
long afterwards. 

Jan and Betje looked ahead and saw 
two gates before them. When the boat 
came close, the gates swung each side 
to let the Wilhelmina through and then 
shut again. The children saw still an- 
other pair of gates beyond the first ones. 
These, too, were closed. 

'^We are really in a water room, arenT 
we, mother?” said Betje. 

[ 39 ] 


^^Yes, dear/’ answered Mother Van 
Eyck. 

Slowly the water was allowed to flow 
out of the water room through an open- 
ing at the bottom of the second pair of 
gates. This made the barge go down and 
down, somewhat like a very slow elevator. 
When she reached the lower level, the 
gates were opened and the Wilhelmina 
continued her journey. 

The very next day, the boat went up, 
instead of down, a step. She passed into 
a water room as before, only water was 
allowed to come in from the higher level 
instead of going out at the lower. This 
took the Wilhelmina up and up until she 
reached the higher level of the canal. 
The gates then opened for her to pass 
through, and the good boat went on her 
way. 


[ 40 ] 


CHAPTER VII 


GOING TO MARKET 

At last the Wilhelmina was tied to a 
wharf not far from the cheese factory. 
As soon as the boat was made fast, Father 
Van Eyck went to tell the men who hired 
him that he had arrived. They let him 
have several helpers to take the loads of 
yellow cheeses from the factory to the 
boat. The cheeses were so heavy that it 
took three or four of those men to push 
the handcart through the streets. 

Soon the work of loading began. Jan 
and Betje with their mother looked on. 

“How good and fresh the cheeses 
smell!” exclaimed Betje. 

“Yes,” her brother answered. “I 
should not want our boat to carry any 


other kind of cargo. Coal is too dirty, 
and so is peat; and stone is not a bit 
interesting.’’ 

Slowly and carefully, Father Van Eyck 
arranged the cheeses in layers in the hold. 

^^Why are you so careful about it, 
father? ” Jan asked. “ I should think you 
could save time by throwing them.” 

^^Ah, but they are yet soft,” was the 
answer, ^'and it would never do to break 
them.” 

^^Is that why you put the boards be- 
tween the layers, too?” continued Jan. 

Exactly,” replied Father Van Eyck. 

Didn’t you tell us, mother,” spoke up 
Betje, ^^that you once saw some cheeses 
made out in the country?” 

Yes,” said Mother Van Eyck. Those 
were dairy cheeses, not factory cheeses, 
like these your father is handling. I 
wish you could have seen the milk room 
that I saw, child! The floor and walls 


were made of tiles, and it was as clean as 
clean could be. Even the barn was as 
neat as anybody’s living room. It had 
dainty curtains at the windows and I 
couldn’t see a speck of dirt anywhere.” 

^‘1 should call that a pretty fine home 
for cows,” said Betje. 

^^It was, indeed,” was Mother Van 
Eyck’s reply. ^^Many boys and girls 
haven’t one so good.” 

The Wilhelmina was soon loaded and 
under way once more. Happy days fol- 
lowed. No two were just alike. Every 
night, before going to bed, Jan and Betje 
would wonder what would happen the 
next day that would be new or interesting. 
Something always did happen, even on 
the quietest of days. 

A part of each day Jan helped Father 
Van Eyck pull the boat, but there was 
plenty of time left for him to play with 
Betje. Sometimes other children joined 
[ 43 ] 


in their games. This happened when 
another barge was tied alongside their 
own. 

Won’t you please come over and play 
with us?” Betje would call out shyly to 
the other canal-boat family. You may be 
sure the invitation was always accepted 
with delight. 

When Jan and his sister were alone, 
they often amused themselves guessing 
how many boats the Wilhelmina would 
meet in the course of the day. They saw 
more barges, of course, than any other 
kind of boat. At such times, Father 
Van Eyck and the other bargemen sent 
friendly greetings across the water. If 
there were children on the other barges 
(and there usually were), they waved their 
hands to Jan and Betje and the little Van 
Eycks never failed to wave back. 

Other boats besides barges moved along 
the canals. Now and then a light sailboat 
[ 44 ] 


with spread canvas came within hailing 
distance. It looked like an immense bird 
skimming over the surface of the water. 

There were fishing boats, too. These 
were sometimes crowded so close together 
that you could hardly tell which mast be- 
longed to which ship. When Jan and 
Betje tried to count them, they had to do 
it, not once or twice, but many times. 
Now Betje came nearer the right number; 
again Jan proved the better guesser. 

So good a time did Jan and Betje have, 
that before they knew it, they had 
reached the market place. 


[ 45 ] 


CHAPTER VIII 


MARKET DAY 

Jan and Betje were up bright and early 
the next morning, for it was market day. 
They were very happy, for they knew 
they would have a chance to play on land. 
When they first left the boat, they hardly 
knew how to act. The pavements with 
little uneven Dutch bricks were so very 
different from the smooth deck of the 
barge! Many a time would the children 
have tumbled had not their klompen been 
broad and steady. 

There were ever so many things to do 
around the market place. First Jan and 
Betje watched the cheese men. It was 
great fun. Father Van Eyck and his 
helpers threw the cheeses as fast as they 
[ 46 ] 


could to another set of men. The golden 
balls sometimes flew faster than the eye 
could follow them. 

^^0, they will surely miss their aim and 
let one fall!^^ Jan cried out excitedly to his 
mother, who was also looking on. 

^^No, indeed,’^ said Mother Van Eyck. 
^^They have had too much training for 
that.^’ And she was right. Not a single 
ball did anyone miss. 

Then the children watched some men 
rubbing the cheeses with an oily cloth to 
make them look bright and shiny, before 
they were laid out in regular rows in the 
market place. 

The selling was the best part of it all. 
Jan and Betje vratched one of the men 
who had come to the market place to buy 
cheese. He walked back and forth among 
the different piles, looking them over care- 
fully and now and then picking up a 
cheese to examine it more closely. 

[ 47 ] 



“The cheese must look, smell, and feel 
just right,’^ said Jan, “before he will buy 
it. And he^s right, too. I don’t blame 
him for being particular.” 

“He must think that pile is worth buy- 
ing,” answered Betje, “for he is telling the 
man who wants to sell it how much he will 
pay for the lot.” 

“Yes, and the price seems right,” said 
Jan. “Now watch.” 

[ 48 ] 



Then the strangest thing happened! 
The seller held out his hand so that the 
buyer could slap it, and the buyer in turn 
let the seller slap Ms hand. Slap, slap! 
The sound reached the children’s ears 
from all over the market place, where 
other buyers and sellers were completing 
their bargains. 

^^0, good!” suddenly called out Betje. 

Father’s cheeses are all sold.” 

[ 49 ] 


It was true. They were sold early in 
the day, for Wilhelm Van Eyck never 
handled any but the best cheeses. 

^^They are carrying them to the scales 
now to be weighed,’^ said Jan. ^^It will 
be some time before they are packed 
again in the boat. Let^s take a walk.’^ 
All right, said Betje gladly. She was 
quite anxious to peep into the shop win- 
dows. So, with Piet at their heels, the 
children started out. 

Such pretty things as they saw behind 
the glass windows — wonderful necklaces 
and bracelets, toy boats, soldiers, animals, 
bright ribbons, pictures, and story books! 
They wandered on and on, forgetting all 
about the Wilhelmina and dinner time. 
Suddenly a frightened look came over 
Betje^s pretty face. 

donT know the way back to the 
market place, Jan,’^ she said, ready to cry. 

^^0, donT be afraid,’^ answered her 


brother, making himself as tall as he 
could. 

He took Betje by the hand and turned 
down the next street. They walked to 
the end of it and then made a second turn. 
Things didnT begin to look familiar, 
somehow, as Jan thought they would, but 
he didn’t want Betje to know they were 
lost. As he was trying to make up his 
mind what to do next, Piet set up a 
furious barking. 

know the way,” he seemed to say in 
his dog language. Follow me. I came 
with you both to take care of you. Didn’t 
you know that? ” 

Now Piet had never been lost in his life, 
so the Van Eyck children felt safe in let- 
ting him take the lead. It was fortunate 
they did. 

In less than ten minutes the good dog 
led Jan and Betje back to the Wilhelmina. 
The smell of cooking food greeted them 
[ 51 ] 


as they touched the deck. Dinner was 
just ready and Mother Van Eyck was 
beginning to wonder what had become of 
her boy and girl. 

^^But I never worry when Piet is with 
you” she said. 

Jan and Betje told their story. Now 
and then they stopped to tell Piet what a 
good dog he was. Do you wonder that 
when they had finished, Mother Van 
Eyck gave the pet a double share of din- 
ner? 


[ 52 ] 


CHAPTER IX 


RETURNING FROM MARKET 

After dinner, the little Van Eycks 
played on land again for a while. Before 
the close of the afternoon, however, they 
heard their father^s call, ^^All aboard! 
All aboard I ” This was the way he always 
warned the children that it was time for 
the Wilhelmina to be under way. 

Father Van Eyck had been engaged by 
one of the buyers to carry his cheeses to 
his warehouse. The work of filling up the 
hold had been finished, and now the barge 
was headed for the warehouse. 

^^I hope we are going to Jacob’s ware- 
house this time,” said Betje. 

We are,” answered Father Van Eyck. 

Jacob was the children’s favorite friend, 
[ 53 ] 


the head man at one of the cheese ware- 
houses. He and his helpers would remove 
the cheeses from the boat to the ware- 
house, when the Wilhelmina reached the 
end of her journey. Jan and Betje were 
on the lookout for him long before the 
barge was tied to the wharf, for Jacob 
was quite likely to be working near the 
canal. 

There he is! I see him first!’’ cried 
Jan. 

“Halloa, Jacob,” shouted Betje at the 
same time. “May we go to the ware- 
house with you to-day?” 

“I’ll see about it,” was the answer. 

Jan and Betje knew that was as good as 
a promise. Soon after they landed, Jacob 
had each child by the hand and was on the 
way to the warehouse. Piet went along 
too, of course. Jacob let the children 
have a peep into the big, high room whose 
sides and center were taken up with racks. 

[54] 


^^The shelves have openings, haven^t 
they, Jacob?’’ noticed Jan. 

Yes; that is so the cheeses will stay in 
place and will have the air on all sides,” 
said Jacob. 

“Why don’t you sell them right away 
instead of letting them stay here?” asked 
Betje. 

“Ah, they need to dry and so have their 
flavor improved,” was Jacob’s answer. 
“This is called ripening. We have to be 
very careful that the warehouse is neither 
too hot nor too cold so that the cheeses 
will turn out just right.” 

“ It looks as if it might take a long time 
to eat them all up,” said Jan with big 
eyes. 

“ If they all stayed in Holland, it would; 
but some of these may go as far away as 
distant America.” 

“ I have heard my father say,” spoke up 
Betje, “that by the time the round Edam 
[ 55 ] 


cheeses get to American children, they are 
varnished a bright red on the outside/’ 

'^It is even so. Do you want to hear a 
little rhyme that tells the story? ” 

^^0, yes,” the children cried out to- 
gether. 

Jacob cleared his throat and sang in a 
deep voice: 

^‘This little cheese crossed the water, 

This little cheese stayed at home; 

This little cheese had a coat of red, 

This little cheese had none.” 

^^Once more!” begged Jan and Betje. 

Good-natured Jacob repeated the lines: 

This little cheese crossed the water. 

This little cheese stayed at home; 

This little cheese had a coat of red. 

This little cheese had hone.” 

“Just once more 1 ” pleaded the children. 
Before Jacob was given a rest, he had 
sung the rhyme so many times that he was 
quite hoarse. 


[ 56 ] 


CHAPTER X 


WINDMILL FRIENDS 

Not many days afterward, Jan and 
Betje said good-by to Jacob. Their boat 
was now bound for the cheese factory once 
more, where it would take on a new load. 
Factory, market place, warehouse — this 
was the round the Wilhelmina repeated 
over and over. 

must go to market to-day,^^ said 
Father Van Eyck one morning. '^Our 
vegetables and groceries are getting low.’^ 
As he started to make the boat fast, 
crash, crash, went the Wilhelmina into 
the landing place. Splinters flew far and 
wide. Mrs. Van Eyck came running up 
the cabin stairs with a worried look on 
her face. Jan and Betje followed. 

[ 57 ] 


^^What, then, is the matter, my good 
man?’’ Mother Van Eyck asked, all out 
of breath. 

'^Nothing much. Only some crum- 
bling, rotten boards have given way.” 

^^It is a shame for the village people to 
let their wharf get in such a condition^ 
before they mend it,” said Mother Van 
Eyck. 

think so, too; but I shall mend it 
myself,” said her husband. 

should say not,” replied Mother 
Van Eyck. 

would feel better about it, mother. 
Besides, there is a sawmill not far away 
where I can get some new timber.” 

A little boy about nine years old and a 
little girl about seven, who had been play- 
ing by the side of the canal, stopped their 
games when the crash came. They now 
stood looking bashfully at Jan and Betje, 
as if they would like to speak to them. 

[ 58 ] 


At last, the little girl whispered some- 
thing in the boy's ear. He looked up at 
Mother Van Eyck. 

^^What is it, child?" she asked kindly. 

“My sister wants to know if your little 
boy and girl cannot come over to our house 
while the father is patching the wharf." 

“Where do you live?" 

“In the windmill close by." He 
pointed to it. 

“0, say ^yes,' mother," pleaded Betje, 
before her mother had a chance to answer. 
“Jan and I have never visited a wind- 
mill." 

“Very well, then," said Mother Van 
Eyck. “Only you must be. sure to come 
back when father waves his hand to you." 

“We will," replied Betje. 

So she and Jan walked over to the 
windmill with the boy and girl. 

“What is your name?" asked Betje on 
the way. 


[ 59 ] 


“Cornelia/^ replied the little girl, tim- 
idly. 

am Frans, said the boy, without 
waiting to be asked. 

^^And we have a baby sister at home,’^ 
said Cornelia with a little more courage. 
“Her name is Marretje/^ 

They had reached the windmill by this 
time. Jan and Betje were surprised to 
find it was a real house, with pleasant, 
comfortable rooms inside. The children’s 
mother had seen the little Van Eycks 
coming and opened the door to welcome 
them. Jan and Betje felt at home at 
once. The good woman answered all their 
questions (and they asked about a hun- 
dred) and showed them into every room. 

Being a boy, Jan was most interested 
in the pumps he saw in one part of the 
windmill. Here they found the keeper 
himself. He shook hands with the chil- 
dren. 


[ 60 ] 


V 



[ 61 ] 


father keeps the pumps going/^ 
said Frans proudly, ^^so that the land will 
not be covered with water. It is impor- 
tant work.’’ 

Cornelia wanted to tell a little bit of 
the story and forgot to be shy for once. 

Yes,” she added, ^^and after the water 
from the fields is pumped into the canal, 
then it goes to the ocean.” 

^^0, yes,” said Jan, “my father told me 
all about it the other day.” 

“You have a fine flag on your windmill, 
sir,” he added, turning to the keeper. 

The Van Eycks knew it well — the 
Dutch flag of three stripes, red, white, and 
blue. 

“Yes,” replied the keeper. “I bought 
it for Frans and Cornelia on our queen’s 
last birthday. I was going to take it 
down that night, but Cornelia cried so 
hard about it, that I left it up. It has 
been flying ever since.” 

[ 62 ] 


Cornelia crept up close to her father. 
She put her small hand into his large one 
lovingly. 

^^When the flag wears out, father will 
buy us a new one,’’ she said. 

“How do you know so much?” her 
father answered back, pinching her small 
nose teasingly. 

“A windmill must be a splendid place 
to live,” said Betje. “It would seem a 
queer home to me, though. I should 
never get used to those long arms turning 
round and round past my windows.” 

She little thought that to Frans and 
Cornelia a boat seemed an even funnier 
home than a windmill! 


[63] 


CHAPTER XI 


THE PARTY 

After Jan and Betje had been all over 
the windmill, the keeper^s wife prepared a 
little lunch for the children. She sliced 
a loaf of gingerbread and from a squatty 
blue and white jug poured out four mug- 
fuls of rich frothy milk. Then she opened 
a pretty tin box of sweet Dutch cookies 
and passed them around. 

It was a pleasant little party. Baby 
Marretje seemed to enjoy it as much as 
did the older children. She crowed and 
clapped her hands every minute. With 
her chubby fingers she crumbled up bits 
of gingerbread and made Betje open her 
mouth for them. 

^HsnT she a darling?” said Betje. “I 
donT think I ever saw a nicer baby.” 

[ 64 ] 


'‘Why, of course not,^’ said little Cor- 
nelia in surprise. "There never was a 
nicer baby than our baby.” 

"Did you notice our storks^ nest on the 
roof of the windmill before you came in?” 
asked Frans of Jan and Betje. 

"No,” they answered together. 

"You must then, when you go out,” 
Frans went on. "You know wherever 
these birds stop, they bring good luck. 
We have found out for ourselves that it is 
so.” 

"0, do tell us about it,” said Jan, very 
much interested. 

"Well, in the spring,” began Frans, 
"grandmother sent Cornelia a pretty gold 
pin for her birthday. Mother let her put 
on her best dress, fasten the pin at her 
neck, and go out for a walk. By the time 
she got back, the pin was gone. W^e 
couldnT find it anywhere. Cornelia cried 
herself to sleep that night.” 

[ 65 ] 


“And the next night, too/’ put in little 
Cornelia. 

“Then/’ said Frans, going on with his 
story, “Cornelia begged father to build a 
nest for the storks on our roof. He 
laughed and said that would not bring the 
pin back, but he did it just the same to 
please us. 

“After it was finished, Cornelia and I 
watched and watched to see if the storks 
wouldn’t come to us. I can tell you we 
were glad when we saw two of them fly 
over our heads and then come straight 
down into our nest as if they had always 
lived there.” 

“And did Cornelia find her pin? ” asked 
Betje, eager for the end of the story. 

“That very same day,” answered Frans. 
“And we have had nothing but nice 
things happen ever since.” 

“I know what I’m going to do,” spoke 
up Betje. “I’ll ask father if we cannot 


build a storks’ nest on the Wilhelmina 
next year.” 

“0, that would be great sport,” said 
Jan. “And we wouldn’t have to climb up 
on any housetop to watch the birds. But 
there is father now.” 

The other children looked out of the 
window and spied Father Van Eyck not 
far away. He first waved his arms, then 
formed a trumpet with his hands and 
shouted through it: 

“Hal loa Jan Bet je Hal.... 

loa ” 

“Yes, we’re coming,” Jan shouted back, 
running to the door. 

Frans and Cornelia didn’t want Jan and 
Betje to leave at all, nor did Baby Mar- 
retje. She tried hard to hold Betje back 
by tugging at her skirts. But Father Van 
Eyck was ready and the children knew 
they ought to obey him. 

“We will come some other day,” said 
[ 67 ] 


Betje, father goes through this canal 
again/ ^ 

hope you will,” answered the kind 
lady who had given them so good a time. 

“Be sure not to forget the storks’ nest,” 
warned Frans, shaking his forefinger at 
Jan and Betje. 


[ 68 ] 


CHAPTER XII 


WHEN MOTHER WAS YOUNG 

That evening after the day’s work was 
over, the Van Eycks were enjoying the 
summer twilight on the deck of their 
barge — Mother Van Eyck sitting, for 
once, with folded hands. Father Van 
Eyck puffing away at his long pipe, and 
the children begging for stories. 

'^0, do tell us about the time when you 
were a girl, mother,” pleaded Betje. 

^^But you have heard it for the thou- 
sandth time, dear.” 

^^I know, but it always seems like a new 
story, just the same.” 

^^Well, if you will hear it again, I sup- 
pose I must tell it to you. 

^^I was born and brought up in the little 
[ 69 ] 


village of Volendam. There all the men 
and boys earn their living by fishing. A 
quaint place it is, with low peaked houses. 
Often you will find a row of big nails along 
the edge of the roof where clothes are 
sometimes hung to dry. I remember 
how your Grandfather Van Vliet pounded 
such a row of nails along the roof of our 
own house.” 

'^For clothes?” Jan asked, though ha 
knew well what his mother would say. 

“No, to hold our klompen. And a long 
row of nails it took, too.” 

“Tell us why you had to hang your 
shoes up outside,” said Betje. 

“Because Grandmother Van Vliet was 
very particular about her floors. She felt 
it would be a disgrace to have them 
tracked with dirt. So we children went 
about in our stocking feet except when we 
had money enough to buy cheap slippers. 
I dressed like the other girls, of course, 
[ 70 ] 


putting on all the petticoats I owned and 
wearing a white cap with wings on either 
side and five strings of coral beads around 
my neck.’’ 

bet you were pretty,” cried Jan, giv- 
l^ng his mother a tight squeeze; ^'for you 
are now.” 

Mrs. Van Eyck pretended not to hear. 

“As we girls grew up,” she went on, 
“there were sweetheart fisher-lads, of 
course.” 

“Altogether too many of them,” grum- 
bled Father Van Eyck between puffs of 
smoke. 

Mother Van Eyck’s cheeks grew pink. 

“But I didn’t want to marry one of 
them,” she said with a toss of her head. 
“Fishing is a dangerous business, es- 
pecially in winter, when the ice has to be 
broken through for a haul. Many men 
drop through the ice holes and are never 
heard of again.” 


[ 71 ] 


^^Like Uncle Hendrik/^ 
the children reminded her, 
in one breath. 

“Yes, and hard, indeed, 
has it been for your Aunt 
Mina ever since to take 
care of Aartje and little 
Mina. One day Wilhelm 
Van Eyck came along. 
Then I felt sure I should 
never make a good fisher- 
wife. I wanted to live on 
a canal boat, instead.’’ 

“Did Grandfather Van Vliet think that 
would be a good thing?” one of the chil- 
dren asked. 

“Not at first. He wanted me to stay 
in Volendam always, you see. But Wil- 
helm Van Eyck waited for me with the 
persistence of a true Dutchman. At last 
grandfather could hold out no longer. 
But he said your father must save up 
[ 72 ] 



enough money to buy a 
boat of his 'own instead 
of working for anybody 
else.” 

^^And he did!” shout- 
ed Jan. Didn’t he, 
mother?” 

^^You are running ahead 
of the story, child. 0, 
how we saved! No more 
beads or sweets for me! 

Every cent I could get I 
put in the bank.” 

real bank?” said Betje, as if she 
had not heard about it dozens of times. 

'^No, a gray stocking which I knit to 
hold the money. It was just as good as a 
klomp bank.” She looked out of the 
corners of her eyes at the children as she 
spoke, and then went on with the story. 

^'The coins piled up slowly but surely 
until the stocking-bank was quite full. 

[ 73 ] 



Then the Wilhelmina was bought. Your 
father and I married and have lived 
happy ever after. That is all there is to 
the story.’’ 

Except us,” said Betje soberly. 

Why, to be sure! And a most impor- 
tant part of the story you are, too.” 

^^What was it grandfather made you 
promise?” asked Jan. He meant that 
nothing should be left out. 

^^That I should always wear the Volen- 
dam dress. He was afraid I might forget 
my old home. As if I could ! ” 

^^You have kept your promise, haven’t 
you, mother? ” said Jan. 

Yes, my boy,” was the answer. 

^^0, mother,” said Betje, ^Tsn’t it about 
time for us to go to Volendam for our 
visit?” 

^^Have patience, little daughter,” said 
Mother Van Eyck. ^^Only two weeks 
more and the next load of cheeses will be 
[ 74 ] 


taken care of. Then father thinks he can 
spare the time to take us to see grand- 
father and grandmother, Aunt Mina, and 
the little cousins.” 


[ 75 ] 


CHAPTER XIII 


FAITHFUL PIET 

After Mother Van Eyck’s story was 
finished, Jan and Betje went to bed. 
They were soon fast asleep, dreaming 
happy dreams of Volendam. They slept 
too soundly to wake easily and so did not 
hear the noise that later aroused their 
father and mother. 

^ ^ Bow-wow — bo w-wo w-o w-o w — ” It 
was Piet barking loudly. 

Now Piet was too well-behaved a dog 
to bark at nothing. Never before had he 
made such a noise in the middle of the 
night. What could it all mean? 

What can be the matter with the dog, 
mother?” said the bargeman. 

^^That I cannot guess,” answered 


Mother Van Eyck, ^^but be sure it is 
something, and the sooner we find out, 
the better/’ 

Before either had time to dress, a cold 
nose was thrust against Father Van 
Eyck’s hand and a great bundle of rough 
fur was wildly bouncing up and down, 
back and forth, in the tiny cabin room. 

“0, do be quick!” Piet’s beautiful 
brown eyes seemed to say as plainly as 
words. 

“Yes, yes, good Piet,” said Father Van 
Eyck, patting the dog’s head. “In a 
second.” 

Piet’s master and mistress were soon 
on the deck above. What they found 
there made them just as anxious and ex- 
cited as Piet himself — a cloud of smoke 
and some curling tongues of flame! No 
wonder Piet had given a sharp alarm. 
The fire was creeping rapidly over the 
barrels and boxes containing vegetables 
[ 77 ] 


and other supplies which Father Van 
Eyck had brought from market the day 
before. 

It was a good thing that Father Van 
Eyck had a clear, cool head. He saw the 
danger at once and knew that unless the 
fire was put out in a few minutes, the 
Wilhelmina herself might be ablaze. 

“Buckets, mother!” was all he said. 

Both of them ran to the stern of the 
boat. There stood three good-sized 
buckets, one inside the other. Each had 
a piece of strong rope tied to the handle. 
The buckets were meant for such a time as 
this, but never before had they been used. 

“1^11 take care of one,” said Mother 
Van Eyck hurriedly. 

In the twinkling of an eye she and 
Father Van Eyck had lowered the buck- 
ets over the side of the boat and filled 
them with water from the canal. When 
this was thrown on the fire, there was 
[ 78 ] 


some sputtering and the flames died down 
a little. Then they leaped up again. 

“We must work faster/’ said Father 
Van Eyck, all out of breath. “0, if we 
only had somebody to handle the third 
bucket!” 

The words were scarcely out of his 
mouth when a sleepy boy, rubbing his 
eyes, appeared above the cabin stairway 
— Jan himself! One look at what his 
father and mother were doing and all 
sleep left his eyes for that night. 

“I’ll manage the other bucket, father,” 
he cried, now wide-awake. 

He seized it and soon had it filled with 
the canal water. It was a heavy load for 
him, but he didn’t stop to think of that 
for one instant. Little by little, the fire 
died down, turned from a bright to a dull 
red, then went out altogether. Jan felt 
he had done his share in saving the barge 
and looked proud enough when Father 
[ 79 ] 


Van Eyck called him his brave fire-lad/^ 
Four grateful persons stood looking at the 
blackened wood, for by this time Betje 
had crept up on deck and had one chubby 
arm around good Piet^s neck. 

fear the fault was all mine,” said 
Father Van Eyck soberly. ^^My pipe 
was the cause of the trouble. I thought 
I put it out last evening, but there must 
have been a few live sparks left. Very 
likely the oily polishing rag I used yester- 
day took fire from them. I promise 
never to be so careless again.” 

^^But nothing harmful can ever happen 
to us while Piet is around,” said Betje, 
giving her pet a good squeeze. 

can well believe that,” answered her 
father. “We have much to thank Piet 
for.” 

They all petted him and said nice 
things to him, while Piet thanked them 
with short yelps of delight. 

[ 80 ] 


shall have a second supper,” said 
Mother Van Eyck. 

Late as it was, she then and there pre- 
pared something for the good dog to eat. 


[ 81 ] 


CHAPTER XIV 


THE VISIT 

The journey to Volendam was a trip 
Jan and Betje never forgot. They went 
by a different route from any they had 
taken before, so they had a chance to see 
many new things. The day came when 
they left all canals behind and found 
themselves in a big sheet of water. 

^^How much wider and rougher it is 
than the canals!’’ exclaimed Jan. 

'^What is it called, father?” asked 
Betje. 

The Zuyder Zee,” he answered. We 
are going to keep as close to the shore as 
possible. Do you see anything I told 
you about not long ago, Jan?” 

Jan looked sharply at everything in 
[ 82 ] 


sight — the dancing blue waves, a sail- 
boat near by, and a lazy windmill in the 
distance. Then his blue eyes fell upon 
something else. 

^^You mean the dike, of course, fa- 
ther,’’ he said, pointing with his fore- 
finger along the shore, so that Betje would 
know where to look. 

The children could make out a sloping 
wall built of strong stones crowded closely 
together. It stretched as far as they 
could see. 

^^The dike keeps the Zuyder Zee from 
flooding the low land beyond, Betje,” 
Jan explained to his sister. 

Long before the Wilhelmina was tied to 
the wharf at Volendam, Jan and Betje 
caught sight of their grandfather. 

It was Simday, which was the reason 
the old man was not out with the fish- 
ing fleet. He stood on the wharf in his 
wooden shoes and baggy trousers, hands 
[ 83 ] 



in pockets and pipe in mouth. A broad 
smile lighted up his wrinkled face and he 
waved his pipe to let the twins know he 
saw them. 

Jan and Betje scrambled ashore as fast 
as ever they could. They clasped their 
grandfather’s hands and started home 
with him. Just outside the doorway 
stood Aunt Mina and the cousins wait- 
ing to welcome them. Grandmother Van 
Vliet was inside. She was as glad to see 
them as were the others. 

Such a lot of talking and laughing as 
went on in that tiny house the next hour! 
All asked questions at the same time with- 
out waiting for anybody to answer them. 
Grandfather Van Vliet stopped up his 
ears with his fingers and pretended the 
noise was making him deaf. He made be- 
lieve he was very cross, but Jan and Betje 
knew better. 

Going fishing with me to-morrow, 
[ 85 ] 


young one?^^ he said to Jan, patting him 
on the head. 

'^Out in the Zee?” Jan asked, all 
eagerness. 

Where else?’^ laughed the old man. 
“It will be too hard work for you to do 
much fishing yourself, but you can take 
lessons by watching us grown-ups.’^ 

Even to be allowed to go out in a real 
fishing boat was joy to Jan. Now, indeed, 
he felt like a grown man. He dreamed 
of nothing but fish all night. The next 
morning he could scarcely eat his break- 
fast, so eager was he to be off in his 
grandfather^s boat. The blue water was 
sparkling in the sunshine and seemed to 
say, ^ ^ Hurry up ! Hurry up ! ’ ^ 

It turned out to be a great day. The 
men made the best haul of the season. 
Grandfather Van Vliet pleased Jan by 
telling him that was because he was 
aboard. So anxious was Jan to tell 
[ 86 ] 





[ 87 ] 


Betje all about it, he could scarcely wait 
to get back to the house. 

^^We went far out,’’ he began, out of 
breath. ''The water was choppy, but I 
didn’t feel sick a minute. Such loads of 
fish as the men found in their nets, Betje! 
There were ever so many different kinds 
and colors — long, fiat, wriggly, silvery, 
and dark.” 

"Did you have your lunch on the 
boat?” asked Betje. "I think I like pic- 
nics better than fishing.” 

"I should say I did. I never was 
hungrier in my life and never ate more 
bread and cheese than I did out there. 
Grandfather brought some herrings along, 
too, and they were good, I can tell you.” 

"Will grandfather sell all the fish?” 
was Betje’s next question. 

"He expects to,” replied her brother. 
"He and the men are now down by the 
shore, putting them in crates to be sent to 
[ 88 ] 


Amsterdam. To-morrow I am going with 
the boys to fish in the canals. I shall 
leave my stockings at home and carry 
bait in my klomp.’’ 

Jan was not the only one who had some- 
thing to tell that day. Things had hap- 
pened to Betje, too. 

man painted my picture/^ she said 
to her brother, proudly. sat down by 
the water while he did it.’’ 

^^What did he want it for?” said Jan. 

Why, he is an artist. Aunt Mina says, 
— a man who makes pictures and sells 
them for lots of money. I wanted to look 
my best and told him I would run indoors 
and change my klompen for my leather 
shoes. But he shook his head no.” 

^^What a funny man — not to want 
you dressed up!” 

That’s what I thought, but I heard 
him say he wished me to look as Dutch as 
I could. And see!” 


Betje held out her hand and showed a 
bright silver kwartje — twenty-five cents ! 

^^The artist man made me take it/’ said 
Betje. ^^It will help towards my St. 
Nicholas money, ‘won’t it? ” 


[ 90 ] 


CHAPTER XV 


TO THE CITY 

The children’s visit came to an end all 
too soon. They did not want to say good- 
by to Volendam at all, but their father 
said he had taken as long a vacation as he 
ought to have. 

Grandfather and Grandmother Van 
Vliet went to the wharf to see them aU off 
and waved their hands as the Wilhelmina 
moved away. 

“Don’t forget you are coming again 
next year,” called out little Aartje across 
the water. 

“No, indeed,” answered Jan and Betje. 

The Van Eyck children now thought 
their father would go for another load of 
cheese. They were surprised, then, as 
[ 91 ] 


day after day passed without his saying a 
word about it. They wondered, too, why 
he and Mother Van Eyck so often had 
their heads together, talking earnestly 
in whispers. At last, one day Father 
Van Eyck beckoned to Jan and Betje to 
come to him. 

^^How would you like to live in a big 
city this fall and winter?^’ he asked. 

The children didnT know what to make 
of the question. Never had such a thing 
been talked of before! 

^^0, that would be great,” said Jan, all 
excited. 

^^But how could we live without our 
boat?” said Betje, half ready to cry. 

“Live on her, as we do now, little one,” 
was her father^s reply. “We would never 
desert the Wilhelmina. Only instead of 
moving about, she would remain in one 
place. Your mother and I think it is 
high time our boy and girl went to school.” 

[ 92 ] 


have taught you both all that I 
know/’ said Mother Van Eyck. 

'^And I have done the same/’ said 
Father Van Eyck. ^^Now if we never 
stop in one place long enough for you to 
attend the same school twice, it will do 
you little good.” 

“No,” agreed Mother Van Eyck, “and 
we want you to know more than we ever 
had the chance to learn.” 

“The canals are frozen over part of the 
winter, anyway, as you know,” continued 
the father. “ It means that I have always 
had to be idle many weeks each winter. 
Now by going to the city, I can get some- 
thing to do on land.” 

“Are you sure, father?” asked Mother 
Van Eyck anxiously. 

“Quite sure. The last time I was in 
Rotterdam, Hein Landman said he would 
give me work around the wharves any 
time I was ready for it.” 

[ 93 ] 


Rotterdam?’’ repeated Mother Van 
Eyck, with a pleased look on her gentle 
face. '^Then Sister Mama and I can 
visit back and forth. In that place, 
children, lives the aunt who gave me the 
pretty tile.” 

It is a little surprise I planned for you, 
mother,” said Father Van Eyck. 

'^It was very thoughtful of you,” she 
replied. 

So this is how it came about that Jan 
and Betje went to the busy city of Rotter- 
dam for a time. Everybody was happy, 
the children most of all. 


[ 94 ] 


CHAPTER XVI 


SCHOOL DAYS 

The first day in the city Mother Van 
Eyck started for school with Jan and 
Betje. They meant to make a short call 
on Aunt Mama on the way. She lived 
in a big brick house in a street with a 
name so long the children couldnT pro- 
nounce it. 

They crept close to the house so as not 
to be seen. It would be such fun to sur- 
prise Aunt Mama ! No, there was nobody 
at the windows. They felt sure they were 
safe. 

“Well, well,” said Aunt Mama, as she 
let them in. “You donT know how glad 
I am to see you all.” 

She hugged Mother Van Eyck first, 
[ 95 ] 


then Betje and Jan, and began the 
rounds a second time. 

^^You didn’t know we were here until 
you opened the door, did 3^ou?” said Jan. 

Oh yes, I did,” answered Aunt Mama. 

The children looked surprised enough. 

“But how could you, auntie?” asked 
Betje. “You couldn’t have seen us with- 
out putting your head out of the window 
and I noticed all the windows were closed.” 

Aunt Mama laughed. 

“Children who live on boats,” she said, 
“don’t always know everything there is to 
know about city ways.” 

She took them into a front room and 
showed them a mirror fastened just out- 
side the window. It was slanted in such 
a way that she could see who was at her 
door and what was going on in the street 
below without taking the trouble of lean- 
ing out of the window. 

“So, young man,” said Aunt Mama to 


Jan, ^^you weren^t such a big surprise as 
you thought you were. But that doesn’t 
prevent my being just as glad to see you.” 

I think the mirror is fine,” replied Jan. 

I’m going to ask father to put one on the 
side of the boat.” 

First, it is a stork’s nest,” spoke up 
Mother Van Eyck, “now a mirror. What 
next? Your father will have such a funny 
boat by the time you and Betje get 
through with it that we won’t be allowed 
to pass through the canals of Holland.” 

That first day in school, everything was 
very new and strange. Betje thought 
there must be at least two hundred pairs 
of eyes looking at her instead of two dozen. 
But the other children were not unkind, 
only a bit curious. 

At recess time, they were very friendly 
and before a week had passed, each of the 
canal-boat children had found a particu- 
lar friend. Betje’s favorite schoolmate 
[ 97 ] 


was Mietje and Jan^s was Adrian. Mietje 
lent Betje her jump-rope until she could 
have one of her own. 

^^But I can never jump with my klom- 
pen on” declared Betje. '^The rope 
won^t get by them.” 

^^Why, of course, it will,” said Mietje. 
^^Watch me.” 

Betje counted while Mietje skipped the 
rope ten times without failing once. 
Betje learned in time to do it herself. 
Sometimes the two girls, for a change, 
would knit during the noon hour. In this 
way, the St. Nicholas socks for Father 
Van Eyck grew fast. 

Adrian offered to let Jan ride his bicy- 
cle. Like Betje, Jan thought he couldn’t 
manage with his wooden shoes. He had 
to be very careful, it is true; but after a 
few tumbles, he felt as secure on the 
bicycle as if klompen were made to use 
especially for riding wheels! 

[ 98 ] 



But there were other things for the 
children to do besides play games. They 
had lessons in arithmetic, reading, and 
writing. There was a geography class, 
too. When the lesson for the day was 
[ 99 ] 


about Holland, Jan and Betje knew more 
than all the other children put together. 
Had they not been through almost every 
waterway in the whole country? 

After a time, the children began to 
study English. It is taught in many 
Dutch schools. At first it seemed hard 
and they thought they could never learn 
to say cheese for kaas, gate for poortj and 
old for oud. Many words, on the other 
hand, like butter, 'pi'pe, and hook sounded 
almost like their own hoter, pijp, and boek. 

Suppose you children give your mother 
and myself English lessons in the even- 
ings,’^ said Father Van Eyck one day. 

The children did so. They made funny 
mistakes, to be sure, but that made it all 
the more interesting. Besides, Jan and 
Betje found that by trying to teach others, 
they learned more rapidly themselves. 


[ 100 ] 


CHAPTER XVII 


CHURCH 

The autumn months flew swiftly by. 
The frosty days of early winter had now 
settled down on Holland. 

Hurry, little daughter/’ said Mother 
Van Eyck the first Sunday morning in 
December, ^'or we shall be late at church.’ 

^^Must I go to-day, mother?” said 
Betje. It is so very cold.” 

“What a queer thing for a little Dutch 
girl to say,” exclaimed Mother Van Eyck. 
“What will you do when real winter sets 
in? With your thick mittens, child, you 
will be comfortable, and as for the new 
red gown I have just made you, why, its 
very color is warm.” 

Betje hastened to get ready. Soon all 
[ 101 ] 


four were on the way. Such beautiful 
tinkling chimes they heard as they walked 
through the quiet streets! 

^^They make me think of little ripples 
on a sunny canal/ ^ said Mother Van Eyck. 

When they entered the church, Betje 
had to let go her father^s hand, for the 
men and women did not sit together. She 
gave it a little squeeze in parting. 

“I can look at you, anyway,” she whis- 
pered. ''And you must look over at me 
once in a while.” 

Jan followed his father, proud, indeed, 
that he was allowed to sit with the men. 

The church had never looked so big and 
bare and cold to Betje as it did to-day. 
Her fingers and toes felt chilled. There 
were no stoves and yet she thought she 
could smell smoke. She sat down be- 
side her mother and hoped the sermon 
wouldnT be very long. 

Just then a man came up the aisle with 
[ 102 ] 


a whole armful of the funniest looking 
objects Betje had ever seen — that is, in a 
church. 

^^What are those queer boxes for, 
mother?’’ she asked in a whisper. 

Her mother did not answer. The man 
had stopped close by them. He put one 
of the strange things under Mother Van 
Eyck’s feet and then Betje heard him say, 
“Does the child want one, too?” 

Mother Van Eyck nodded her head 
yes. And then Betje, for the first time, 
had a good look at a foot warmer — for 
that is what it was. 

On the outside, it looked like a box, as 
she had noticed. There was a wire handle 
and openings in the top. In the inside 
was a small pottery dish which held a 
piece of burning peat. This fuel, as Betje 
knew, does not go out easily, once it is 
well started. 

She had to sit on the very edge of her 
[ 103 ] 


seat so that her feet would reach the 
stove. But how warm and comfortable 
it was! The sermon seemed the shortest 
she had ever heard. 

^^Did you have a peat stove, too?’’ she 
asked Jan after church was over. 

“No, of course not,” said her brother. 
“They are only for women and girls.” 

Just the same, Betje thought he felt 
cold. If not, why did he stamp his feet 
and blow on his fingers? 


[1041 


CHAPTER XVIIl 


MORE SECRETS 

It needed no alarm clock or mother’s 
voice to- waken Jan and Betje on the 
morning before St. Nicholas Day. They 
were up a whole hour earlier than usual. 
After breakfast, the first thing they did 
was to lift down their klomp banks from 
the mantel shelf. 

Then such a whispering as went on in 
the corner farthest away from their 
mother! 

^^One - two - three - four - five cents! 
Ten - fifteen - twenty - twenty-five cents 
~ one kwartje!” 

This kept on for about fifteen minutes. 

“I make mine just two gulden — two 
hundred cents,” at last whispered Jan. 

[ 105 ] 


have two gulden and six cents over,” 
Betje whispered back. 

The children then hunted up their 
father. 

There is no school to-day, father,” 
Jan began. 

Then Betje took up the story. “And, 
please, we should like to go around in the 
shops,” she said. 

“Bless the children, mother!” said 
Father Van Eyck. “You would think 
they had real money to spend.” 

Jan and Betje hung their heads but 
said nothing. 

“I donT mind, if mother doesn’t,” 
went on Father Van Eyck. 

“You may go,” said Mother Van Eyck, 
“if you are sure you will not get lost and 
will be back by noon. You must take 
good care of your sister, Jan.” 

There were no happier children in all 
Holland that day than Jan and Betje. 

[ 106 ] 


Jan had put all his own and his sister ^s 
money in his pockets. He first made sure 
there were no holes in them! 

First, the children found a shop with 
beautiful slippers in the window — green, 
red, brown, and blue velvet. They went 
in and asked to look at the green ones. 
Of course they must match the green 
socks Betje had finished for her father the 
week before. 

Where is the string, Jan?’^ she asked 
her brother. 

“Right here.'’ 

He took from his pocket a piece of cord 
just the length of Father Van Eyck's 
old slippers, which would be of help in 
measuring the new ones. Soon the right 
size was found. 

“How much are these, sir?" Jan asked 
with a grown-up air. 

“Two gulden, my boy." 

“We will take them, if you please." 

[ 107 ] 


The good-natured man laughed when 
Jan counted out the amount in small 
coins, few of them larger than a five-cent 
piece. 

Somebody’s father will have a happy 
St. Nicholas Day or I shall be greatly 
mistaken,” he said pleasantly. 

The children said good-by to the shop- 
keeper and left the store. Mother’s 
present came next. Jan and Betje were 
trying hard to make up their minds what 
it should be when they saw a window 
filled with pretty Japanese teapots and a 
big sign, ^Hwo gulden each.” 

^^The very thing,” exclaimed Betje. 

You know mother broke her best teapot 
not long ago. I am sure she would like a 
new one.” 

So within ten minutes, they had a 
second parcel, which Jan hugged close to 
him so that it would not fall. The teapot 
had wonderful pictures — a tea garden, 
[ 108 ] 


bridge, temple, and a lady with a sun- 
shade, and beautiful gold decorations be- 
sides. 

What to do with the six cents that were 
left was the next question. 

‘^1 know,’’ said Jan. “Let’s buy some 
St. Nicholas cakes.” 

There were dozens of different kinds 
from which to choose, but at last the 
children picked out some in the form 
of letters. These were two for a cent, 
so that they bought an even dozen. 
The letter cakes spelled “Father” and 
“Mother.” 

Just as they were leaving the store, a 
sight caught their eyes which made them 
stop short. There at the door stood a big 
man with a long white beard, dressed in a 
red coat trimmed with white fur. 

“It must be St. Nicholas, Jan,” Betje 
whispered. “What a kind face he has!” 

“Is his black servant with him?” said 
[ 109 ] 


Jan. “Yes, there he is, with the bundle 
of rods he carries about for children 
who have been naughty through the 
year.” 

St. Nicholas caught sight of the children 
and called out, “Good morning.” 

He was so pleasant that Betje forgot all 
about being timid. 

“Please, dear St. Nicholas,” she began. 
The good saint bent over to hear better 
what she had to say. His snow-white 
beard brushed Betje’s cheek. 

“We are going to put our klompen by 
the stove to-night,” she said, “and I hope 
you will not forget to fill them.” 

“And we will put some straw in the 
shoes for your white horse,” added Jan. 

“ Where is it you live, my dears? ” asked 
St. Nicholas, taking a book from his 
pocket. The children watched him ea- 
gerly. 

“0, I am glad you asked that,” said 
[ 110 ] 


Betje, ^^for our boat is in a dififerent place 
from where it was last year.” 

Good St. Nicholas wrote down the new 
address and said he would surely not for- 
get the Van Eycks. Then he blew a 
good-by kiss, and Jan and Betje went 
home, eager to tell mother all about him. 


[Ill] 


CHAPTER XIX 


ST. NICHOLAS DAY 

I wish you might have taken a peep 
into the cabin of the Wilhelmina the 
next morning. You would surely have 
thought Jan and Betje were not in their 
right minds. Such dancing and prancing 
and clapping of hands! Such talking 
and laughing and shouting! Piet made 
his share of the noise, you may be sure, 
barking as wildly as he did the night of 
the fire. 

The klompen were full and there were 
presents on the table besides. The straw 
had disappeared and in its place were the 
lovely gifts. Kind St. Nicholas had 
ridden on his swift white horse over the 
roofs of houses and decks of boats, scat- 
1112] 


tering good things for sleeping children 
far and wide. 

shouldn't like his work/^ said Father 
Van Eyck. 

“Nor 1 ” said mother. “He well de- 
serves a whole year of rest.^^ 

“Do look at the lovely little Dutch doll 
he left for me,” said Betje to her parents 
for the tenth time. “Isn^t she a dear?” 

She held up the doll for them to see. 
It looked so much like Betje herself that it 
might have been taken for her small sister. 
It had the same blue eyes and yellow hair. 
The dress was red, like Betje’s best one, 
partly covered with a long brown apron. 
There was a white cap on the dolFs head 
and two strings of beads around her neck. 

“Oh, but do look at my skates,” broke 
in Jan, also for the tenth time. “Now 
the only thing left to wish for is ice.” 

Then the children left their new toys 
for a minute, and hurried to get the pres- 
[ 113 ] 


ents they had bought the day before. 
These had been tucked away over night 
in the strangest hiding place, but the only 
one they thought was safe — their cup- 
boards beds! Betje had been very much 
afraid she might kick the teapot in her 
sleep, but she found it safe and sound. 
With her brother's help, she undid the 
paper wrappings and arranged the pretty 
things on the table with a circle of letter- 
cakes around them. 

For me? exclaimed Father Van Eyck, 
taking up the warm socks and smoothing 
the velvet slippers. 

“For mef ” repeated Mother Van Eyck, 
turning the teapot round so that she 
could admire all the lovely Japanese 
scenes on it. “I think we have two dear 
good children, father. What do you say?’^ 
By the way Father Van Eyck kissed 
and patted the children, I think he 
thought so, too. Anyway, Jan and Betje 
[ 114 ] 



[ 115 ] 



felt glad they had not spent their bank 
money on foolish little things, as they had 
been tempted to do more than once during 
the past few months. Besides the doll and 
skates, the slippers and teapot, there were 
all kinds of cakes and other sweets, in- 
cluding a gingerbread girl for Betje and 
a gingerbread boy for Jan. 

Was Piet forgotten by St. Nicholas? 
No, indeed! He had a brand new collar 
and so many frosted cookies he didn’t 
want any meat all day. Betje explained 
to him very carefully what the celebra- 
tion was all about. As he was a most 
intelligent dog, he looked as if he under- 
stood every word of the story. 


[1161 


CHAPTER XX 


ICE BOUND 

Several weeks passed by and still there 
was no ice on the rivers and canals. Jan 
began to think they would not freeze over 
that winter. Then one morning he heard 
his mother’s voice calling, ^^Come, come, 
wake up, Jan!” 

Jan rubbed his eyes sleepily and turned 
over for another nap. 

^^Very well, then,” said Mother Van 
Eyck, ^^we shall have to let some other 
boy try the new skates.” 

That was enough. With one bound, 
Jan was in the middle of the floor. And 
in almost as short a time as it takes to 
tell it, he was dressed and out on the 
canal. 


Solid ice at last! Over all the water- 
ways stretched glassy floors as far as the 
eye could see. The Wilhelmina was 
bound fast. Every man, woman, boy, 
and girl who owned any kind of skates — 
good or bad — was out upon the frozen 
streets that day. Mother Van Eyck 
skated to market. Father Van Eyck to 
work, and the children to school. 

Jan found his St. Nicholas skates were 
just as fine as they looked. There wasnT 
a better pair, he felt very sure, in all Rot- 
terdam. Until he had a little practice, 
he fell down now and then, but he always 
picked himself up with a merry laugh. 
What was a mere tumble or two compared 
with the fun of skimming over the ice? 

^^My work takes me to Gouda this 
afternoon, mother,^’ said Father Van 
Eyck at the dinner table. “I think I will 
skate there and back.’^ 

^^Why donT you?^^ answered Mother 
[ 118 ] 




Van Eyck. It is by far the shortest and 
quickest way. Besides, we should like to 
see if you can bring back a pipe safely.’^ 
pipe?^’ echoed the children in the 
same breath. 

Your mother means one of the twisted 
Gouda pipes, explained their father. 
“ They have so many turns, it is very hard 
to keep them from breaking. A little 
jolt or jar, and snap! you have nothing 
but pieces. A man or a boy who can 
skate to Gouda and bring back one of the 
brittle things whole is thought to be a 
pretty good skater. 

^^Why, then, you can do it very easily, 
father,’^ said Betje. '^Are you not the 
best skater in all Holland?’’ 

“Hardly that, little one. But I will 
try to get the pipe just the same,” replied 
Father Van Eyck. 

They all watched him start off. How 
tall and straight he was and what fine 
[ 120 ] 


long strokes he took! The children did 
not linger at school that afternoon. They 
hurried home so as to be on hand when 
their father should return. Whenever a 
speck was seen in the distance, they cried 
out, There he is! There he is!” Some- 
times the speck turned out to be a girl or 
a woman. Then how they all laughed! 

When Father Van Eyck did swing into 
sight, Betje was the first to make him out. 
She strained her eyes for a glimpse of the 
twisted pipe. Yes, there it was, high 
above his head — and perfectly whole! 

did it!” Father Van Eyck called 
out in his hearty voice. 

knew you would all the time,” was 
Betje’s reply. ^^Are you not the best 
skater in all Holland? ” 

^^But I thought you were going to bring 
it back in your mouth,” said Jan, with 
disappointment in his voice. 

“Ah, then it would never have come 
[ 121 ] 


back at all/^ said Father Van Eyck. 
Everybody tries hard to break any Gouda 
pipe they see moving along the canals.’’ 
call that rude,” said Jan. 

^^Not so,” said his father. ^^It is only 
good-natured fun. Many a bump I re- 
ceived on the way back, I can tell you, and 
I was lucky to carry the pipe whole even 
above my head.” 

“We will hang it up on the wall,” said 
Mother Van Eyck proudly. “It is a good 
omen for the new year.” 

“If the new year is as good as the old 
year,” spoke up Father Van Eyck, “we 
shall have no cause to complain.” 

“I think so, too,” said Jan. 

“And I,” added Betje. 

Even Piet showed he was of the same 
mind by a few short happy barks. 


[ 122 ] 



MerriU’s Story Books 


T his series of story 
books for children 
is especially suited for 
supplementary reading. 
The stories are told in 
an appealing way, and 
the many interesting 
and attractive illustra- 
tions are sure to be 
appreciated by the youthful readers. 

In mechanical execution the books 
are all that could be desired. The type 
used is large and clear, giving to the 
page an open appearance, and a dull- 
finish paper is used throughout the series 
— these features obviating the danger of 
eye strain. 

The books are of a very convenient 
size for a child’s use, and are bound in 
cloth of different colors. 

The following are now ready: 


IfERRILCS STOItr BOOKS 


BANBM CROSS SrORIfi 



NEW YORK 


ijA CHARLES E 
MERRILL CO. 
PUBUSHERS 


BOW-WOW AND MEW-MEW 
For First and Second Grades. By Georgiana 
M. Craik 

14-6 pageSy 12m0y cloth, 30 cents 

BANBURY CROSS STORIES 

For First and Second Grades. Selected and 
arranged by Frank W. Howard 

123 pages, 12mo, cloth, 25 cents 

PAUL’S TRIP WITH THE MOON 

For Third and Fourth Grades. By E. W. Weaver 
92 pages, 12mo, cloth, 25 cents 

ALICE’S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND 
For Third and Fourth Grades. By Lewis Carroll 
187 pages, 12mo, cloth, 30 cents 

STORIES FROM THE FAR EAST 

For Third* and Fourth Grades. Translated and 
arranged by Roland G. Kent, Ph. D., and 
I. Freeman Hall 

152 pages, 12mo, cloth, 30 cents 

DICK WHITTINGTON W OTHER STORIES 
For Third and Fourth Grades. Selected and 
arranged by Frank W. Howard 

167 pages, 12mo, cloth, 30 cents 

JAN AND BETJE 

For Third and Fourth Grades. By Mary Emery Hall 
122 pages, 12mo, cloth, 30 cents 


I 


I 
















rM 


*. I 







m: 




.• f 


I '• K*r'ra.5>. V'/ ^ 


I. • * I » I 

;■ . t ' 

i: .i ¥m 

1. ' ^ •.'! f'li'* I I ^ '. •'■«i»'^^l 


»« 




y 




Yf 







t* fi 

•iV .{?:'••» 


/< & ■ 


• I 


•V :(•>■" 


• j 


\ ■'t 


I"",! r-'-mdm,! . , '■:, Sii,./.'.' .;*‘:i*< 



■vj .' «., >>1, 



*■ ,1 


’ I .,J / 

■'; : ' v/kff 


; « '» 



\ I 








%-v* 


if 


; / 


'iwap 


•/vl, 




'*. ' 




'■ .' •* i. ^ .• ' 

• i»» • 'iA* ''1 *' U ■• «• a 

' i'V> W‘ ' )^*‘^‘ 




* . • 





iWf 



■"* If. ■•'*1''’ 


liV '/ 






, ’U.', 


* .1 ^ 
. 1 .‘If ’ ’* ^ . 

'.? W - ‘ ' 


• I 



i 


f 


•A 'W/-; ‘ * 

.(I . ^ ' '* 


I ' 4 




i 17 


11 ( 


'* ^ 


'» * 




» . 


> 1 


I . i 


b 4 t 


^vw:• . : .; 


\i 


» = ^ 




I . 


-n- f, r,7/._‘j^ 
,{ 


ife 

■ '■ ' '.■ ; V-W* 

i>V|‘i\4, 


i» 


1 




t • ‘ 


r 


. ’r.' > -,' 

. n '. • *. f •». 


:■( 


I' I 


‘ ■ 1 , 

• ' ', » • - '■ '.^ v*:.i'.. ■. 

. * • c ' • - 

: *.• vV ^ ..•• ;: 


t ■ 


iv.. 


V, 




I ' 


V ', 


• 4 




s' t». 


Ul 


I ‘N 


:'>4; 





% 








i; ^vi. 












